


Phone Call

by teej_318



Series: Prompts for Camp NaNoWriMo April 2020 [9]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Mike Wheeler is a good friend, Protective Mike Wheeler, Sad Will Byers, Supportive Mike Wheeler, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Will Byers Loves Mike Wheeler, Will Byers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: Will is having one of his gray days, a day where he just goes through the motions because of bad memories. As it turns out, one phone call helps make things better.
Relationships: Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Series: Prompts for Camp NaNoWriMo April 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650052
Comments: 2
Kudos: 75





	Phone Call

As soon as Will had woken up that day, he knew it wasn't going to be a good day. Ever since moving away from Hawkins, and really many times before that, he would have what he thought of as his gray days. Those were days when everything seemed bleak and he simply went through the motions. Although his family could pick up on his subdued mood, Will would carefully word his responses so they wouldn't worry about him. 

When he woke up that morning, something inside of him just told him it was going to be a gray day. He couldn't explain in, but the sourness of his mood set in almost immediately. It didn't help that it was cloudy, windy and rainy outside that day. Weather like that always seemed to have a negative effect on Will's mood. He dressed warmly that day, not caring too much about his appearance, but not wanting to draw attention to himself.

At school that day, he didn't speak out in class and didn't engage with any of his peers. Although it was normal for Will to be quiet in class, he usually raised his hand at least once a class period to ask a question or answer a teacher's question, but on this day, he kept his head down, not even taking notes and knowing he would regret it later. It did nothing to improve his mood.

By the time he got home that afternoon, Will felt completely drained. He was relieved that El was the only one home; he didn't want his mother or Jonathan fussing over him. El knew to leave Will alone on his gray days, but he knew that she would worry about him. Anticipating this, he had politely asked El to leave him alone for a little while and El had agreed. 

Will collapsed onto his bed once he knew he was alone. Although he felt exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried. Instead, he just stared off into the distance, concentrating only on his breathing. In a way, it was soothing to him, and helped him relax his mind. 

Hours later, Will was alerted when he heard the phone ringing in the house. He wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or not, but he felt a little drowsy and a little better than he had all day. Will sat up in his bed, turning on his bedside lamp and rubbing his eyes.

Will was startled when he heard gentle knocking on his door.

"Come in," he said, yawning.

The door opened and his mother came walking into the room, holding the portable phone.

"Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm okay," Will lied, smiling at his mom in order not to worry her. 

"Mike is on the phone and he wants to talk to you if you're up to it."

"Yeah sure," Will said, perking up at hearing his best friend wanted to talk to him. Mike always had a sixth sense whenever Will had a bad day, and he had been silently hoping that maybe, just maybe, Mike would know.

Will stood up from his bed and walked over to his mother and took the phone. He briefly gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and Joyce smiled at him before she turned and left, giving Will some privacy.

"Hey Mike," Will said in a tired voice, though he tried to hide.

"Hey Will, what's going on?" Mike asked.

"Um...it's been a bad day, Mikey." 

Will got back into his bed, but sat up as he talked to Mike.

"Talk to me, buddy, what's going on?"

"It's just one of those bad days, you know?" Will said. "Like I used to get sometimes whenever I would just be in those moods."

"Like when you felt stuck and you had the view-master feeling?" Mike asked.

Will smiled warmly. Of course Mike remembered Will describing how he felt.

"Yeah, just like that," Will said. "I don't know why I keep having days like that. I keep thinking that I'm getting better and then I just have a day like this and everything just feels awful, Mike. I know it's stupid, but..."

"Hey, Will, your feelings are never stupid," Mike said in a soft voice. "Don't ever say that about yourself, okay? And I get it, Will. I do. Sometimes I just have bad days and I just wanna be left alone. And that's okay, Will. It's okay to have bad days every now and then. Remember what Hopper's note said? 'When life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave.'"

Will nodded even though he knew Mike couldn't see him. Mike always knew exactly what to say in order to make him feel better. Will wished Mike could be there so he could hug his best friend, just like they always did whenever Will had a bad day and went to Mike for comfort.

"I miss you, Mike," Will blurted. He blushed slightly to himself, not expecting to say that out loud. Somehow, though, he knew that Mike would understand that he needed to say it. What he didn't expect was Mike's reply.

"I know. I miss you too, Will," Mike said in his softest voice, the one that Will only heard when it was just the two of them together. It calmed Will down in a way nothing else could. Knowing that his best friend was with him in a sense made Will feel better.

"I wish you were here."

"I do too, Will. I miss seeing you every day. I miss everything about you. I hate that we have to be apart, but I understand why. But hey, there's just about six weeks till Christmas, right? Then we'll be able to spend time together when you guys come back and visit."

"Yeah, it's gonna be great," Will said, smiling widely and feeling lighter than he had all day. He knew everything was going to be okay now that this gray day had passed. 

"Hey Will?"

"Yeah, Mike?"

"Are you feeling better?"

"How'd you know?" Will asked.

"I can hear it in your voice. You sound lighter, easier than when we first started talking. It's good to hear. I wish I could see it."

Will blushed even more, smiling brightly to himself as he took in Mike's words.

"Me too," Will whispered, though he wasn't sure Mike heard him.

"And Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Anytime you get that view-master feeling, remember that you're not alone. Crazy together, always. And you can always call me, any time day or night."

"Thanks, Mike. Crazy together, always." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. I took a break from writing for a few days and then little story crawled into my head and I wanted to write it. I wanted protective Mike without him physically being there for Will, so I thought of having this take place after the Byers family had moved.
> 
> And don't worry, I'll be updating all the in-progress stories I've started this month, and I'll be working on some more requests I've gotten. Stay tuned!


End file.
